Exploring Sociological Themes in Zhang Yimou's Story of Qiu Ju (1992)

This report provides an analysis of the Chinese film 'Story of Qiu Ju (1992),' focusing on its relevance to various sociological themes, particularly those propounded by Max Weber. The student examines the film's narrative, which depicts the struggles of a pregnant peasant woman seeking justice after her husband is injured, and connects it to concepts such as social action, individual freedom, and the rigidity of rules and regulations. The analysis highlights how the film illustrates Weber's theories, including the relationship between individual actions and societal structures, the importance of individual rights, and the impact of bureaucratic systems. The report also discusses the film's entertaining aspects, such as the humorous scenes and the protagonist's character, while emphasizing the film's significance in portraying sociological concepts within a cultural context. The student appreciates the director's representation of characters and the overall flow of the film, concluding that the movie successfully conveys complex sociological ideas through its compelling storytelling.

Story of Qiu Ju (1992)

It was a great pleasure to watch this short and interesting Chinese movie. The story of Qiu Ju is
considered as a famous Chinese comedy-drama film of 1992. It was successfully directed by
Zhang Yimou. Gong Li play a title role in this film which is very interesting. It gives lots of
happiness to me. In this paper, we will discuss the Story of Qiu Ju and how it relates to the
different sociological themes. This will efficiently do with the help of different sociological
theories propounded be Max Weber who is a famous sociologist. During the movie, there are
very happiest events which make me very happy. The film describes story of a peasant woman
who is known as Qiu Ju. She lives in a rural area of China. I like her very much because she was
looking so funny which makes the overall story very entertaining and interesting. I liked the way
Qiu Ju has shown her character in this film. Her walking style makes her different from others.
This film seems very different from the other Chinese films. Most of the people think that
Chinese movies are very complex and confusing. But it is very easy to understand and have an
interesting story. This films shows us a various entertaining and interesting drama scenes and
deserves a lot of appreciation from me. In this film, Qiu husband is kicked in the groin by the
head of the village. She is pregnant in this movie and struggles very much for justice. The
diegetic sound utilized by the director also very smooth and clear. The overall movie is based on
the role of Qiu Ju and shows how she struggle in her life despite on the last stage of her
pregnancy. She is the main reason behind the attractiveness of the film. As per the Max Weber,
Sociology is considered as the relationship of our action with the action of others (Durkheim,
2014). This movie completely denotes the sociology action in its story. The head of the town has
the responsibility to manage all its citizens in an efficient manner. But he doesn't follow his rules
and regulations in an efficient manner. The film is based on the sociological theme of rigid
adherence to rules and regulations. This is because the head of the town is not following his rules
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and regulations and exploit human beings. He kicked Qiu Ju husband in the groin to fulfill his
personal benefits. He ignores all the human values and ethics and also not follow the rules and
regulations developed by the government of the state country. The rigidity of rules and
regulations should not be there because this will influence the life of human beings in a great
manner. The producer of the film utilized great alignment style to make it attractive. I liked the
way the producer has display all the images of the film. One of the pleasant and funny scenes of
the movie was when Qiu Ju and her friend stole the snacks from a bakery shop. This makes the
event attractive and very funny. The interest and attractiveness of the film saved me from getting
bored, but I enjoyed lots and feel very good by watching this Chinese short film. The film was
entertaining and interesting because there was no hold in this film. Qiu Ju and her interesting
lawyer kept me busy in watching them. Qiu Ju gets fighting with various legal officers to provide
justice to her husband. This moment of the film shows continuously for a long time. The
background style and the other entertaining things that have been used in the film are distinct to
the other Chinese films of history and the past. This film also depends on the sociological theme
of the problem of individual freedom (Alexander, 2014). This is because Qiu Ju and the other
citizens of the village have no freedom to live their life according to their own wishes. They are
bound by the legal actions of the village head. Max Weber conclude that every person has their
own right to leave their life and they have complete freedom to take decisions (Swartz, 2012).
This should be there in the village which makes it successful and grows in the near future. If
individual freedom is there in the village, Qiu Ju able to take justice for her husband. But she
failed in doing so. This is because every legal officer was corrupt and don’t want to write a
report against the head of the village. Overall the movie was great. The happiest moment of the
movie was that the owner of the bakery shop run behind Qiu Ju and her friend for punishing her.
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But they rush too fast to save themselves. This is very laughing and entertaining moment of the
film. All this enables the producer in maintaining a fluid in the flow of the film. The key
attractive and entertaining thing shown in the film that attracted my eyes was the expressions of
Qiu Ju and her lawyer. I was very happy to see the reactions and expression that she was giving
and the way that the lawyer was giving suggestions to her. I appreciated a lot the way the
director has represented the different characters in the film. Social action theory which is
propounded by Max Weber helps us in understanding the concept of the film. As per the social
action theory, there should be a relationship between the actions of one with the actions of
another (Giddens, 2013). If this system is followed in the village of Qiu Ju, then every member
of town can live their life with high freedom. Because relationship establish bonding between
two people and this will bring coordination among all members of the town. Social action theory
is not isolated in nature (Beetham, 2013). It concludes that one should follow his duties and
responsibilities in an efficient manner. This will bring cooperation and no any problem can arise
in future. If the cooperative environment is their head of the village, never perform the illegal
actions and Qiu Ju also not perform struggle in her life. The film was developed in an
outstanding manner which cannot be done by others.
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References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SQpE3_3cVmA&list=PLjzi3N6HWTj2R_8TZq0ZG9wJqZlM-EizA
Durkheim, E. (2014). The rules of sociological method: and selected texts on sociology and its
method. Simon and Schuster.
Swartz, D. (2012). Culture and power: The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. University of Chicago
Press.
Beetham, D. (2013). Max Weber and the theory of modern politics. John Wiley & Sons.
Giddens, A. (2013). Politics and sociology in the thought of Max Weber. John Wiley & Sons.
Alexander, J. C. (2014). Classical Attempt at Theoretical Synthesis (Theoretical Logic in
Sociology): Max Weber. Routledge.
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